Agents API at a glance
The Agents API gives developers a managed Codex harness with durable sessions, sandboxes and support for their own tools and MCP servers.
What changed with Agents API
OpenAI released the Agents API in public beta on September 10, 2026. It exposes the Codex agent harness as a managed service: OpenAI handles sessions, orchestration, context compaction and recovery, while your application supplies tools, MCP servers and the execution environment.
Agents can run code in OpenAI-hosted sandboxes or in self-hosted environments, apply skills, steer mid-task, delegate to subagents and resume sessions. OpenAI added computer use to the Agents API on September 29 and, in October, the Artifact SDK in sandboxes plus pre-warmed sandboxes billed only during active turns.
Why Agents API matters for businesses
Limits matter for client work: the docs say data residency is currently US-only and the API does not support Zero Data Retention, even with a self-hosted sandbox. Usage is billed at the chosen model's rates plus standard tool and container rates. For agencies, it removes much of the custom orchestration code needed to run long, multi-step agents.
Put it to work: AI Agents
Sources for this story
- OpenAI API changelog (opens in a new tab)Official
OpenAI · developers.openai.com
- Agents API overview (opens in a new tab)Official
OpenAI · developers.openai.com
Last verified: . IA Compa summarizes public announcements for business readers. We are not affiliated with the companies mentioned. Always confirm details, pricing, and availability with the official source.
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